UPDATE – Israeli plane attacks kite flyers in Gaza

By Nour Abu Eisha and Hani al-Shaer

*UPDATES WITH ISRAELI ARMY’S STATEMENT

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – An Israeli warplane on Sunday struck a group of Palestinians trying to launch incendiary kites and balloons near border of the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli military.

In a statement, a military spokesperson said the airstrike targeted a squad “that was launching arson balloons from the northern Gaza Strip into Israel”.

Two Palestinians were reportedly injured in the attack in the northern city of Beit Lahia, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter in the area.

The Palestinian Health Ministry has yet to issue a statement about casualties.

In recent weeks, Palestinian activists have been flying flaming kites and balloons over Israeli territory as part of ongoing anti-occupation protests along Gaza border.

Since March, more than 157 people have been martyred and thousands more injured by Israeli army fire during the protests against the decades-long Israeli occupation and 11-year blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly 2 million inhabitants of basic commodities.